HBMK: Poor property management will harm your development's value

• HBMK successfully forms subsidiary management corporation for Menara UOA Bangsar

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 22): Poorly managed property will affect the value of your property development versus a well-managed one.

“It’s very clear to see that if we don’t manage it well, it will affect the reputation or image of your property. The moment you lose out on a good reputation, your rental will get affected and your value will get affected,” said Henry Butcher Malaysia (Mont Kiara) Sdn Bhd (HBMK) managing director Low Hon Keong during his presentation entitled ‘Managing Branded Residences’ at the recent HBMK Convention 2023 here.

“It will also have a significant impact on the property owners’ confidence. So, it’s very important as property managers to always take proactive steps to ensure that you’ll always do the necessary things to manage and maintain your buildings well,” he said.

Low also stressed that interactions between stakeholders (management committee, property manager, individual strata owners and local authority) are very important. This is because it is all related to one objective -- financial sustainability.

“If individual owners are not happy with you (property management) and don't pay our service charge on a monthly basis, everything will fall. Financial stability can be achieved only when they consistently pay the service charge,” he explained.

Second subsidiary management corporation in the Klang Valley

Low also announced HBMK’s formation of a subsidiary management corporation (sub-MC) for Menara UOA Bangsar on August 2, 2023. 

“FYI, this is the second subsidiary management corporation successfully formed in the Klang Valley. According to Pesuruhjaya Bangunan (COBKL), this is also 100% compliant with all the requirements stated in the Strata Management Act and so by COBKL’s guidelines,” he stated.

HBMK associate director Jessie Koh who presented her ‘Formation of Subsidiary Management Corporation’ paper mentioned that Menara UOA Bangsar is fortunate, in that, during the building’s construction, the developer had the formation of a sub-MC in mind.

“If you want to form a sub-MC, it’s advisable that your finances are healthy. I would say at least RM1 million will be involved. We have to bear in mind that some other costs will be involved for your separation like rewiring, for example. We are lucky enough that we have two different low voltage (LV) rooms serving each tower. So we saved a lot of cost when we formed the sub-MC,” said Koh.

Paid toilets, a lucrative additional income source

During the ‘Innovative Cost-cutting Measures’ forum, panelist Cyanne Lim, HBMK senior property manager, spoke about alternative income-generating strategies if cost-cutting ideas are not feasible.

“The most significant project that we successfully implemented was where we transformed the free public toilets to paid toilets in Solaris Mont Kiara. We were able to generate about RM8,000 per month!

“The proposed return on investment target was actually seven years, but we were able to reduce it to five years. Recently in August, we have increased the entry rate to RM1.20 from RM1 which is very positive income to the whole development,” Lim remarked.

The HBMK Convention, an annual event, unites HBMK’s building managers, executives, senior accounts, and technical personnel. The objective is to update key personnel on industry trends and foster a platform for idea exchange and team unity.

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